1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a catheter for magnetic navigation in the human body, of the type having a magnet arranged in the catheter tip, in order to move the catheter to a desired location in the body using an external magnetic field.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Catheters of the above type, that are presently being tested in a number of clinics, already have become known in different embodiments. In addition to catheters in which the magnet in the catheter tip is a permanent magnet (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,148,823, 6,330,467 and 6,241,671), additional catheters have been proposed in which a electromagnet is arranged in the catheter tip (U.S. Pat. No. 6,401,723). This guidance of the catheter in the human body with using a magnet arranged in the tip, that effectively “pulls” the following catheter body through the body, is hindered in the case of movement in vessels with very narrow curves and divergences by the rigidity of the known catheter body. This leads to a significant counter-force that tries to pull the catheter back from the already-achieved position.